So, I like to be comfortable.
Comfortable clothes (tee and jeans, thank you! Ooh and flip flops!), comfortable temperatures, hanging out with people I'm comfortable with. I like to know what to expect. And I feel best when I have done something before so there are no surprises.
Recently I posted the following as my status on Facebook:
It's time to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
Jillian Michaels says this on one of her workout DVDs, and I thought it could apply to many areas of life.
My husband and crazy friends hijacked my comment section and had a field day. It began with Dave suggesting I start in the kitchen. Ha!
But about being a Christian...
I've always thought that to be a "good" Christian (maybe effective is a better word?), you should be out of your comfort zone all the time. A speaker at our church once said that you can't be a comfortable Christian.
I've always agreed with that. Haven't necessarily always lived it, if ever. Which has often created a lot of guilt.
But then I read a thought provoking blog post called Being in Your Element by my high school buddy, and it got me to thinking. Perhaps there is something to be said about the magic that can occur when we are in our element. We each have talents that God has blessed us with. Surely, we can use those to further His Kingdom and bring Him glory. And still be in our comfort zone.
I really admire Jen Hatmaker. She wrote a book called 7 that, if I could ever be so brave, I would love to emulate in my life. The whole thing is about being out of your comfort zone and not doing the status quo. Whoa! Talk about life-changing. And motivating yet terrifying!
This woman spends a good portion of her time with the homeless. And she takes her kids with her! She and her husband decided one day to give it all up and pursue God with all of their hearts. Awesome!
I have this bad habit of saying that I know what I need to be doing more of in my life to bring God glory and show love to others to spread the good news of Christ, but I'm just not sure yet what that's going to look like for my life.
Really?? That just sounds like an excuse. A lame one, at that. I know exactly what it can look like in my life. I'm just putting off doing it.
It will require stepping out of my comfort zone from time to time. But perhaps I really can shine for Christ where I am comfortable.
Or? Here's a thought...
How about every time I stretch myself, it gets a little bit more comfortable?
Kind of like trying to do the splits. I hear (not that I've tried recently) that after stretching and stretching, one eventually gets all the way down and ultimately can do it with no problem at all.
The more we get uncomfortable, the more comfortable we will feel. Our comfort zone grows. Then we won't have to worry about our comfort at all. And we'll still be in our element because our element maybe changed and grew.
Maybe Jillian Michaels is onto something?
Just keepin' it real.
Next time...Uncomfortable Speech
But about being a Christian...
I've always thought that to be a "good" Christian (maybe effective is a better word?), you should be out of your comfort zone all the time. A speaker at our church once said that you can't be a comfortable Christian.
I've always agreed with that. Haven't necessarily always lived it, if ever. Which has often created a lot of guilt.
But then I read a thought provoking blog post called Being in Your Element by my high school buddy, and it got me to thinking. Perhaps there is something to be said about the magic that can occur when we are in our element. We each have talents that God has blessed us with. Surely, we can use those to further His Kingdom and bring Him glory. And still be in our comfort zone.
I really admire Jen Hatmaker. She wrote a book called 7 that, if I could ever be so brave, I would love to emulate in my life. The whole thing is about being out of your comfort zone and not doing the status quo. Whoa! Talk about life-changing. And motivating yet terrifying!
This woman spends a good portion of her time with the homeless. And she takes her kids with her! She and her husband decided one day to give it all up and pursue God with all of their hearts. Awesome!
I have this bad habit of saying that I know what I need to be doing more of in my life to bring God glory and show love to others to spread the good news of Christ, but I'm just not sure yet what that's going to look like for my life.
Really?? That just sounds like an excuse. A lame one, at that. I know exactly what it can look like in my life. I'm just putting off doing it.
It will require stepping out of my comfort zone from time to time. But perhaps I really can shine for Christ where I am comfortable.
Or? Here's a thought...
How about every time I stretch myself, it gets a little bit more comfortable?
Kind of like trying to do the splits. I hear (not that I've tried recently) that after stretching and stretching, one eventually gets all the way down and ultimately can do it with no problem at all.
The more we get uncomfortable, the more comfortable we will feel. Our comfort zone grows. Then we won't have to worry about our comfort at all. And we'll still be in our element because our element maybe changed and grew.
Maybe Jillian Michaels is onto something?
Just keepin' it real.
Next time...Uncomfortable Speech
I think you can be in your element AND be out of your comfort zone. A basketball player may be in his element when playing, but the NBA Finals or the Final Four is a different animal than playing on the playground with your buddies. I think more things can be both/and instead of either/or.
ReplyDeleteExcellent point! Though the NBA Finals or Final Four is what the player dreams of so while he may be out of his comfort zone, he's probably super excited to be there. Maybe we should be more excited and less fearful? Just a thought.
ReplyDelete